Art of manufacturing shoes



April 23, 1935. J. w. JOHNSON v 1,998,505

l ART OF MANUFACTURING SHOES Filed March 9, 1952 Patented Apr. 23, 1935 UNITED STATES PATET orrics ART 0F MANUFACTURING SHOES Application March 9,

8 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of boots and shoes and more particularly to a method of attaching soles to shoes by means of cement.

It is common in the manufacture of shoes, the soles of which are permanently attached by cement, to coat the margin of A`the bottom of a lasted shoe and the margin of a sole with a solution' of a strongly adhesive substance, to permit the coats ofY cement to dry hard, and then, after having applied a solvent to one or both coats of cement, to position the sole upon the bottom of the shoe and to hold the shoe and sole together under pressure until the solvent evaporates sufficiently to cause the cement to set. Pyroxylin cement is commonly used, said cement being applied `in the form of a solution which, upon evaporation of the solvent, leaves a hard coating of pyroxylin upon the sole and upon the shoe. 'Although the solvent is volatile nevertheless the shoe and sole vmust be held together under pressure for a considerable interval before enough of the solvent evaporates to cause the cement to set suiciently to permit the shoe with its attached sole safely to be removed from the press'by which the 'pressure is commonly applied. This interval varies somewhat'according to the particular cement and solvent or softener used, but is frequently as long as twenty minutes with the consequent disadvantages y which such a time-consuming operation entails.

Although a particular procedure has been de scribed above in which both the sole and the shoe are provided with hard coats of cement to one or both of which-softener is directly applied, it should be understood that variations in the procedure are possible. In any variation7 however, a layer of soft sticky cement will be present between the shoe and the sole after they are put together; and the same disadvantages, due to the necessity of holding the shoe and sole together under pressure for a comparatively long interval, will be involved.

' The general object of the present invention is to hastenthe setting ofthe cement and thus to shorten the interval of time during which the shoe and sole must be held together in the press. To this end either the shoe or the sole or both are heated before the two articles are put together so asy to store up heat which, being given off later when the shoe and sole are being held together under pressure, will hasten the setting of the cement. Although heat may be stored in either or both articles, it Vwill preferably be stored in the shoe and the last upon which the shoe is 1932, Serial No. 597,671

mounted since', at a given temperature which is not injurious to leather, much more heat may be stored in the larger of the two articles.

Referring to the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is an elevation of an apparatus by the use of which the method may be conveniently practiced; and p c Fig. 2 is a detail, principally in vertical section of part of the apparatus.

The shoe and sole with the soft sticky cement 1,0, between them are commonly held together.V by a unit of a press.V Such a unit is sometimes an integral part of a turret press having a plurality of units, and sometimes is a removable unit adapted to maintain the pressure upon the shoe 1,5, after it has been removed from the press.` In the present instance one unit which is an integral part oi a turret press is shown, the turret being rotated intermittently about a vertical standard or rod 3 bymechanism not shown, and adapted to bring the units one by one successively into a position accessible to the operator. The unit shown, which is in that accessible position, comprises` a box 5 fastened to theturret 'I and containing aV yielding pad. 'Ihe operator places g5 a sole lupon this pad, places a shoe upon the sole, and having previously provided a layer of`v soft cement between the shoe and the sole manipulates parts of the machine to cause a jack comprising a toe pad 9 and a heel post I l to force the 30, shoe down rmly against the sole and hold the shoe and solev together under pressure. .They remain so held until Athe turret, which is intermittently rotated, has made a complete revolution and once more reaches the position of rest shown, when the jack is released, the shoe with its attached sole is removed and a newsole and lasted shoe are placed inthe unit. No further description of the turret press will be given since c the detailsof its construction form no part of the 40 present invention. The particular press,a p ortion of which is herein shown, forms the subjectmatter of application Serial No. 636,202, led vOctober 4, 1932, inthe names of Milton H. Bal- E lard et a1. ,4s

Associated with this press is a turret heater adapted to hold a plurality of lasted shoes or a plurality of soles, to store up heat inthem and to present a hot shoe orsole in a position accessible to the operator everytime a unit of the turret :50 press reaches such a position. A vertical rod I3V has a lower vend oi greatly reduced diameter which is threaded into a socket in the topof the stationary vertical rod 3 about which the turret l rotates intermittently, said rod I3 having threaded upon it near its lower end a lock-nut I 5 which bears against the flat top of the rod 3. Rotatably mounted upon the lower portion of the rod I3 is a sleeve i1 having a depending fork the branches of which are connected to the turret 1 by pins I9, 2| so that this sleeve rotates intermittently with the turret. Rotatably mounted upon the rod t3 above the sleeve I1' is a second sleeve 23 having a collar provided with spaced `holes into any one of which may extend a springpressed locking-pin 25 carried by a boss or extension integral with the lower sleeve I1. Thispin is always in locking position, asshown, when the press is running, and consequently the 4:up-per sleeve 23 turns with the lower `:sleeve i I1 and with the turret 1.

Integral with the upper portion of the sleeve 23 is a gear 2l' which meshes with a gear 29'fast t0 the lower end of a short vertical shaftf3l .to the upper end of which a small gear 33 is fast. The short vertical shaft '3l is rotatablymounted in a stationary casting v35, said'casting having-a hub through which the Vertical supporting -rod i3 passes. AThe hub'ofthe casting 35 restsfupon a shoulder 'formed uponft-herod I3d and isfastenedto said rod by a set-screw 31. This stationary casting 35 supports not only the short vertical shaft'3l Vbut also the stationary enclosure of the turret heater, said enclosure `comprising a'flat circular l plate 39 fastened by means of a narrow annular member'dl and screws 43 toa cover '4.5, said'cover comprising a'hollow member having a cylindricallower portion andafrustoconicalupper portion closed at its top by a circular plate 41.

v'I'hesmall gear 33Y meshes with4 a larger gear 49 integral'with an upright sleeve 5I having a bushing '53,said sleeve and-its bushing resting upon a ball-thrust bearing '55 carried-by the stationary support 35. The rotary sleeve 5| extends up through a hole in the center of the plate 39 and has neariits'upper end acircular flange'to which is fastened, by means. of caplscrews ,'51, a circular plate 5'9. This plate'59^formsthe Vloottom'of the rotary member of the turretheater, said-rotary member being dividedintoa series of compartments'two1 of which are showniin-Figl. v These compartmentsare-formed by partitions 6| Vthree ofwhich are shown inFig. 1. A4 blower operated by` a; motor B^3imounted on the stationary plate H1, 4causes'a current of air-to pass through the Vcoils S5-of an electric heater, throughthe various cornpartments,and back throughthefheater to heat the lasted shoes `lglil'or other articles 'which have been placeduponsupportingrods-6-1 in each of the compartments.

The stationaryenclosure'of the rotary turret heater-is -cut1away,-as shown, at a localityadja- -cent to the station of 'the-turret press at which the operator stands, the opening being of just sufficient size toexpose-twoof the compartments. lThe rotary turret of the heateris rotated inter- -mittentlylin timed relation to the intermittent rotation of the turret pressby'thev gearing which has been described above in such manner that the turret rotates-throughan angle dened by the Icon-verging -walls vof each of its compartments eachfti-me that-the turret press rotates one step,

ments lexposedeto view andaceessible to the oplcrater.

Withtheturret'press and ythe turret heater in lthe-positions of rest shownfand assuming that the left-hand compartment contains a hot shoe, that the right-hand compartment is empty and that the unit of the turret press contains a shoe with its attached sole which has made one complete revolution in the press, the procedure is as follows:-'Ihe operator removes the shoe from the press. He then puts a sole on the pad in the unit Vof the press, puts a cold shoe in the righthand compartment of the heater and at the same time takes the hot shoe out of the left-hand compartment. At this time the operator makes provision for the subsequent presence between the sole and the bottom of the shoe of a layer of soit sticky cement, for example, by applying a softener to the hard coat or coats of cement with which lthe shoey or the sole or both have been previously supplied. He places the hot shoe upon the sole Vand manipulates certain members to cause the shoe and the sole to be properly located with respect to each other and to be pressed rmly together and held under pressure. `This is the position of parts shown. He then manipulatesY a member to cause the turret press to move one step and come to rest again. This movement of the press moves the right-hand compartment into the stationary enclosure 45 taking with it the cold shoe. There are then exposed to viewtwo compartments, the right-hand one of which is empty and the left-hand one of which contains a hot shoe. The operator then proceeds as before by removing the finished shoe from the press, putting a -cold shoe in the right-hand compartment and removing the hot shoe from the lefthand compartment. In this way, every time that a unit of the press reaches a'position or station accessible to the operator, a hot shoe is also presented in such a position. Any suitable number of compartments may be employed in the heater. In the illustrated construction the press has eight units and the heater seventeen compartments, the gearing between the turret of the press and that of-the heater being such that the two turrets operate in the timed relation which has been described above. Referring to Fig. 2, the purpose of the spring locking pin 25 is to permit vthe turret heaterto be turned by hand independently of the turret press if desired, forexample to ll the heater with shoes before the press is started or to vremove the hot shoes fromthe heater if for any reason it is desired to empty the filled heater without operating the press.

The extent to which the shoe or the sole is heated may, of course, be varied; butin general it is desirable to heat the article throughout toas high atemperature as is safely practical, having in mind thatl too greata heat will injurethe materials of the shoe as well as the cement. As` an example of what is safeand practical, it may be statedthat, in carrying out the method of the invention, the lasted shoe may be heated throughout to a temperature of F., that is until the middle portion of the wooden last has reached that temperature.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United `States is:

1. The method of att-aching a sole to a shoe which comprises providing on a surface of at least one of the two articles a coating of hard cement, heating at least one of the two articles sufficientlyto store up in it a considerable amount of heat, applying a softener to at least one of the coatings, positioning the sole and the shoe properly with respect to each other, and holding Ithe sole and shoe together under pressure'for an interval during which the stored-up heat hastens the setting of the cement.

2. The method of attaching a sole to a shoe which comprises providing coatings of hard cement upon selected portions of the two articles, storing up heat in one of the articles, applying a softener to at least one of the coatings, positioning the sole and the shoe properly with respect to each other, and holding the sole and shoe together under pressure for an interval during which the stored-up heat hastens the setting of the cement.

3. The method of attaching a sole to a lasted shoe which comprises providing on the bottom of the shoe and on the sole hard coatings of cement, heating the lasted shoe sufficiently to raise the temperature of the vshoe and last throughout to a point considerably above room temperature, applying a softener to the coating of cement on the sole, positioning the sole and the shoe properly With respect to each other, and holding the shoe and sole together under pressure for an interval during which the stored-up heat hastens the setting of the cement.

Y 4. The method of attaching a sole to a lasted shoe which comprises providing on the bottom of the shoe and on the sole hard coatings of cement,heating the lasted shoe suiiciently to raise the temperature of the shoe and last throughout to a temperature above F., applying a softener to the coating of cement on the sole, positioning the sole and the shoe properly with respect to each other, and holding the shoe and sole -together under pressure for an interval during which the stored-up heat hastens the setting of the cement.

5. The method of attaching a sole to a shoe which comprises providing on each of the two articles a coating of cellulose ester cement, treating one of the articles with a current of hot gas, the temperature of the gas and the length of time of the treatment being insuflicient to render the coating appreciably tacky but suiiicient to store up in the article a considerable amount of heat, applying a liquid softener to one or both coatings, positioning the shoe and the sole properly with respect to each other While one is hot and the other cold, and holding them together under pressure for an interval during which the storedup heat hastens the evaporation of the solvent.

. 6. The method of attaching shoes to soles which comprises presenting shoes containing stored-up heat one by one in a position accessible toan operator, successively assembling hot shoes and cold soles with layers of soft, sticky cement between the'm, and successively holding the shoes and soles together for an interval during which lthe stored-up heat hastens the setting of the cement.

7 The method of attaching shoes to soles which comprises providing a series of shoes the temperatures of which vary from one end Y of the series to the other, moving intermittently the series tol-bring one of the hotter shoes into a position accessible to an operator, assembling hot shoes and cold soles with layers of soft, sticky cement between them, and successively holding the shoes and soles together for an interval during which the stored-up heat hastens the setting of the cement.

8. The method of attaching soles to shoes Which comprises bringing successively into a position accessible to an operator a series of pressing units, simultaneously bringing successively into an adjacent position also accessible to the operator a series of shoes having heat stored up in them, assembling, each time that a shoe and unit reach the positions named, a hot shoe and a sole with a layer of soft, sticky cement between them, putting theY assembly in the unit, and holding it under pressure for an interval during which the stored-up heat hastens the setting of the cement.

JOSEPH W. JOHNSON. 

